Año Nuevo Island (''Año Nuevo'' is

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

for ''New Year'') is a small island off Año Nuevo Point on the coast of Northern California, between

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

and Santa Cruz. The island has an area of . It is an important breeding site for

northern elephant seal The northern elephant seal (''Mirounga angustirostris'') is one of two species of elephant seal (the other is the southern elephant seal). It is a member of the family Phocidae (true seals). Elephant seals derive their name from their great siz ...

s and the

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...

Steller's sea lion, as well as several species of

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...

s, including rhinoceros auklets, Brandt's cormorants and

western gull The western gull (''Larus occidentalis'') is a large white-headed gull that lives on the west coast of North America. It was previously considered conspecific with the yellow-footed gull (''Larus livens'') of the Gulf of California. The western ...

s. Due to the number of seals and sea lions,

great white sharks The great white shark (''Carcharodon carcharias''), also known as the white shark, white pointer, or simply great white, is a species of large Lamniformes, mackerel shark which can be found in the coastal surface waters of all the major ocean ...

are frequently spotted patrolling the waters around the island. It is protected as part of the Año Nuevo State Reserve. Año Nuevo State Marine Conservation Area and Greyhound Rock State Marine Conservation Area are two adjoining protected marine areas off the coast of

Año Nuevo State Park Año Nuevo State Park is a state park of California, United States, encompassing Año Nuevo Island and Año Nuevo Point, which are known for their pinniped rookeries. Located in San Mateo County, the low, rocky, windswept point juts out into t ...

. Like underwater parks, these marine protected areas help conserve ocean wildlife and marine ecosystems. The waters of Año Nuevo State Marine Conservation Area surround Año Nuevo Island.

Geology

As recently as the 18th century, what is today Año Nuevo Island was a peninsula. It became separated from the mainland by a channel that continues to widen. The island is mainly made up of

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

shale and deposits from ancient dunes, along with a broad

intertidal The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore, is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide (in other words, the area within the tidal range). This area can include several types of habitats with various species ...

shelf and low, rocky islets, all of which are frequently altered by the erosive pounding of waves, particularly during winter storms.

Administration

Año Nuevo Island is managed by the

University of California Natural Reserve System The University of California Natural Reserve System (UCNRS) is a system of protected areas throughout California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents acros ...

Santa Cruz campus, under an agreement with the California Department of Parks and Recreation. The Año Nuevo Island Reserve, including the island and surrounding waters, comprises 25 of the of the Año Nuevo State Reserve, the rest of which is on the mainland opposite the island.

Access and facilities

Access to Año Nuevo Island is restricted to members of approved research teams; the island is closed to the public. The island has a few abandoned buildings built in the late 19th century. A residential home and foghorn station, all abandoned, are located on the island. The original light tower was deliberately toppled early in the first decade of the 21st century as it began to deteriorate and became a hazard to the resident wildlife. Some of the remaining buildings are used as research facilities.

Restoration

Año Nuevo Island is a haul-out site for thousands of

California sea lion The California sea lion (''Zalophus californianus'') is a coastal eared seal native to western North America. It is one of six species of sea lions. Its natural habitat ranges from southeast Alaska to central Mexico, including the Gulf of C ...

s. Over the past several decades, they have caused extensive damage to native plants and auklet burrows. In 2010, a conservation non-profit organization, Oikonos, started a restoration project to reduce sea lion trampling, re-grow native plants, and help the auklet populations.

In Literature

* New Year Island (novel) is a 2013 fiction thriller by Paul Draker, set on modern-day Año Nuevo Island.

References